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"After two or three months, Tang Wenshan came to PINK." Du Zao looked up at the ceiling light. Compared to most women, her Adam's apple was relatively prominent, and it moved up and down as she spoke. "Before he arrived, Sun Changyu and Zhuo Anqi were just playfully taking jabs at each other. Within two days of his arrival, the three of them were like brothers. You know how dogs are? Once two or more dogs form an alliance, their courage instantly multiplies, and their aggression increases exponentially. Not only do they bully solitary peers, but sometimes they even dare to charge at people without hesitation. However, if you separate them and let any one of them go out alone, it will revert back to being the obedient and sensible creature it originally was. Within a month, those three had harmed the first girl. I’m not clear on the specifics, but I confirmed my relationship with Tang Wenshan about a month and a half after he arrived."
"You've said so much, yet I haven't heard Song Daoquan's name even once."
"Don't rush; he'll be making his entrance soon."
After tidying up the cups and plates at the designated booth and joking with the women in the bar, Du Zao stepped outside for a smoke. It was already four in the morning when she left PINK.
Tang Wenshan wrapped his right arm around Du Zao's neck and lifted her chin with his fingers. "Why so unhappy? Are you jealous?" He mischievously slipped his hand into her collar. "Don't worry; I always use protection with them, just like I know you’re clean since you don’t use any. This is my special treatment for you, okay? Speak up."
Du Zao pulled his hand away and swatted it aside. Tang Wenshan grabbed her by the back of her neck. "You think you're special?" Before he could finish speaking, a middle-aged man under fifty slammed a brick against Tang Wenshan's head. He collapsed to the ground without moving. Du Zao was initially stunned as she watched blood flow from Tang Wenshan’s hair onto the ground. The man spat at Tang Wenshan in anger, "You bastard!" He was about to strike again when Du Zao rushed to hold him back. "Big brother, let him go; you'll be the one suffering if this turns into a murder case!" She thought he might be seeking revenge for one of the girls harmed by Tang Wenshan and his friends. "Think about your daughter; she's already been through enough. If something happens to her because of this bastard, how will she cope? The best course of action is to call the police. Big brother, take her to report this; the police won't let them off!"
She heard the man huffing angrily as he stepped back to look at her, his eyes bloodshot. "That bastard ruined my daughter!" She nodded repeatedly. "I understand. Big brother, let's let the law punish him; don’t turn yourself from a victim into a perpetrator because this bastard isn’t worth it! What do you think?" She noticed him grinding his teeth nervously and braced herself for his next move. After a moment of deliberation, he dropped the brick next to an air conditioning unit and quickly left. She exhaled deeply and looked coldly at Tang Wenshan, fearing that if they went to the hospital and doctors discovered something wrong, it would lead to trouble with that man again. So she dragged Tang Wenshan’s body across a car and placed him on the steps by the riverbank while smoking and waiting for him to wake up. If he didn’t wake up, she would throw him into the river; she absolutely refused to harm a victim's family.
"He woke up just before dawn, cursing as he dragged me to the hospital for stitches."
"He didn’t suggest calling the police at that time?"
"Come on, officer; do you really think a murderer would go to the police station asking for justice after someone touched his bag?"
Shen Jie chuckled in embarrassment at her words. "That man was Song Daoquan?"
"Yes, I didn’t know him then; I only found out he was Song Zheng's father during our second encounter when I was already living with Tang Wenshan. The night before, I had gone to use the bathroom and accidentally saw a girl fleeing naked outside. Without thinking, I threw my nightgown to her; she didn’t catch it as it fell on the ground while she held onto the door handle before leaving with a spit towards me that felt like my heart was being sliced in half with a dull knife—it hurt so much! I asked my manager for leave on WeChat but didn’t want to stay in that apartment anymore. In a daze, I ended up at Canyang Community’s entrance wanting just to see Song Zheng from afar when unexpectedly Song Daoquan walked out. The security guard poked his head out and asked him, 'Daoquan, why haven’t we seen Song Zheng around these days? Did she move schools?' Can you imagine how I felt? A father wanting revenge on a rapist was stopped by me only to later find out that father’s daughter was the girl I cared about most—my feelings were like those of a cowardly hypocrite putting on a crown of 'justice' only to turn around and see myself in the mirror. I couldn’t hold back my vomit right then; all I felt was regret."
"Was that when you started harboring thoughts of killing Tang Wenshan?"
Du Zao shook her head. "I’m not inherently twisted; killing is something I wouldn’t dare think about. I've been bullied countless times in my life but never raised my hand against anyone. I just hated Tang Wenshan—throwing him dirty looks or spitting in his takeout when they committed their crimes at night while silently dialing 110 only to delete it... These petty acts were far from having the guts to kill until over a month ago when I ran into that man who had tried to gang-rape me—the same night I first met Song Zheng—coincidentally sitting in my area of responsibility at PINK Bar. Anger boiled inside me as I bought a Bloody Mary from the bartender and splashed it all over his face! The bartender made it strong enough that it burned his eyes so badly he couldn’t open them! Because of this incident, my manager fired me right there—trying to please that jerk—he wouldn’t even let me pack my things in the break room but called security to throw me out instead! At that time, I was still dressed as a bunny girl waitress with barely any fabric covering my chest and buttocks while wearing bunny ears on my head—there was no way I could face anyone after leaving the bar! So I went around to the back door; just as I entered the break room, I saw Song Zheng talking with my manager about work in the hallway—she looked completely different from before: heavily made-up and dressed provocatively but still moved like herself. I had no idea what had happened or why she ended up working there; Tang Wenshan passed by carrying drinks for customers in their booth right next to them when Song Zheng’s expression suddenly changed—her hatred and murderous intent were so obvious even my manager noticed—but she had become clever enough to brush it off with casual remarks while agreeing to take over my area as a waitress."
"You realized her intentions and wanted to help her get away clean?"
"Exactly! I found Song Daoquan and discussed what should have been a flawless plan."
"If not for your later blunder leading you into our sights, this plan indeed seemed solid. You used your manager’s announcement about beating up Tang Wenshan’s group as cover for creating an illusion of their escape while Sun Changyu's and Zhuo Anqi's flight confirmed your suspicions further. Thus you first killed Tang Wenshan and collected some blood from him before quickly changing into his clothes—hiding your high heels in pant legs—and impersonated him while disposing of his body in Zhaowang River before waiting by PINK Bar for witnesses to appear so that Song Daoquan could kill 'Tang Wenshan' in front of them using a retractable prop knife for stabbing effects while you secretly tore open blood-filled bags creating a murder scene corresponding with your body disposal method also throwing 'Tang Wenshan' into Zhaowang River afterward. The clever part of this plan was using surveillance cameras meant for recording facts as tools for creating your alibi—we couldn’t trace Song Daoquan through Tang Wenshan’s social connections; you certainly raised suspicion but surveillance footage proved you weren’t present during the crime while Song Daoquan had an opportunity but wouldn’t come into our view since all weak ties between him and Tang Wenshan were through you. Ultimately we would have gathered information on girls who had suffered under Tang Wenshan’s group filtering through them along with their friends—a massive undertaking—but due to our misdirection this case would likely remain unsolved cold case allowing both you and Song Daoquan peace of mind continuing life after avenging Song Zheng."
"Uh-huh." Du Zao raised her head proudly.
"The premise being we hadn’t discovered your other rented apartment in Building 1 Unit 3—Room 0102—your access point where you killed Tang Wenshan alongside Song Daoquan using this apartment's window avoiding surveillance escaping through bars disposing of his body into Zhaowang River also using it afterward sneaking into Miss's break room borrowing someone else's phone reporting Zhang Yuzhen’s body concealment location—Du Zao, you had time for committing murder."
Du Zao lowered her head helplessly with a bitter smile. "Playing cat-and-mouse with police is inherently foolish."
"But I'm curious why you reported Zhang Yuzhen’s concealment location exposing Song Daoquan within our sights?"
"Because he killed Song Zheng’s mother causing her immense suffering—a crime equally unforgivable!"
"But your own crimes will also be exposed."
"I’ve been guilty since birth; rather than let this world punish me, I'd prefer handing over my life into your hands."
Du Zao is laughing.
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